Orono to hold auction for things you can’t buy to raise money for Schoodic Symposium sculpture

ORONO, Maine — The town will auction off things money can’t buy and some things it can on July 27 in an attempt to reach a fundraising goal of $20,000 required for the town to obtain a sculpture from this year’s Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium.

Lianne Harris, an Orono councilor and chairwoman for the symposium committee, said the town already is about halfway to that goal thanks to about 70 donations, large and small, that have come in from residents and business owners.

The auction is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Friday, July 27, at Dirigo Pines Inn, 9 Alumni Drive in Orono.

“We wanted this to be something fun and enjoyable and different,” Harris said.

Items up for sale at the auction include:

• A children’s birthday party at the Orono Fire Department.

• A ride to school on an Orono firetruck or police cruiser.

• Creating and naming your own sandwich for the menu at Harvest Moon Deli.

• Creating a new cocktail for the menu at Woodman’s Bar and Grill.

• A weekend at a summer cottage.

• The chance to post a message of your choice on the University Inn marquee.

• A private tour of the Orono Bog Boardwalk.

• Lunch for four on a yacht in Penobscot Bay.

All auction items are donated, Harris said. Other items will be put up for silent auction, including jewelry and crafts.

The Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium opens July 22, with thousands of spectators expected to visit Orono to see eight international artists craft their pieces from blocks of Maine granite during the course of the next month.

Harris said seating will be available for about 80, but that space can be made for more. To reserve a place at the auction, call Dirigo Pines at 866-3400 or email sbowler@dirigopines.com.

Orono plans to place its sculpture in a plaza at the site of University Credit Union’s future headquarters at the intersection of Main Street and Bennoch Road, according to Harris. Town officials have said that site, which was home to the historic Katahdin Building before it burned in 2009, will become a new landmark and focal point for Orono’s downtown.

Teng Shan-Chi of Taiwan will create Orono’s sculpture.

The Sculpture Symposium is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 22 through Aug. 30 at the University of Maine Steam Plant parking lot on College Avenue in Orono.

A closing ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 30, when the finished sculptures will be on display before they are moved to their permanent locations.